Pool Hunny // Benny Rodriguez

30.

Caroline. 

Thankfully the Yankees won and which meant the after party would definitely be happening, and my father would be in a good mood for the next week. Benny and I stayed behind during the press conference and I introduced him to all of the other players. My father even suggested we play a game, Benny of course was fantastic. The players were all highly impressed with his skill, he probably played more than they did on average since he was in the sandlit before and after school every single day. The boy basically ate, slept and breathed baseball.

They already knew how good I was, since I had basically grown up around them. When I was younger as soon as school was out my mother and I would take off for the summer and spend the whole time travelling around the country with my father and his team. They had all taught me how to play. 

I adjusted my grip before smacking the ball as hard as I could sending it flying across the stadium, Ralph (one of the players) grabbed me hoisting me up on his shoulders when I finished running the plates. "Caroline Baker ladies and gents, put your hands together!" he called to the imaginary crowds. 

"Put her down before you injure her!" My father called but you could tell his voice wasn't serious, it had been a while since I'd hung out with him since he was at work and it was nice to be back. 

"Are you coming to the after party?" Whitey asked as we made our way back to the locker rooms, I was still perched on Ralph's shoulders, just like when I'd been a little kid.

"You bet, I wouldn't miss seeing you lot all stumbling around completely wasted." I replied jokingly. 

"You sound just like your mother. Look just like her too." Hal told me, "god rest her soul."

 I smiled to myself, I loved being compared to my mother she had been such an angel and I'd had so little time with her. Ralph put me down when we reached the dug out and Benny and I said goodbye to them before we left the stadium. We had time to kill before it was time to get ready for the dinner which meant I could get some shopping done and show Benny around in the mean time. Not to mention I was starving and it was high time we ate something.

"Where are we going?" Benny asked confused as I turned down the road away from the direction we'd come. 

"To lunch, and don't worry I'm paying for everything so we don't have to go back to the appartment for you to get your wallet." I told him picking up the pace, I had a lot of stores I wanted to hit before dinner.

"Caroline I can't let you do that." He protested. 

Of course he had to be well meaning. "Nonsense, besides my father insisted I pay for everything." I lied, I knew he would make me walk back to the hotel if I didn't. He was abnormally nice like that. 

"Are you sure?" Benny asked still looking conflicted. 

I sighed linking my arm through his and pulling him down the road to where I wanted to go, "I'm positive, now stop whining and start smiling because you're about to have the best meal of your entire life." 

I hailed us a cab and we got inside before I told him to take us to the plaza hotel. "You can't be serious Caroline." Benny asked me. 

"Deadly. And it's fine my father has a table there so don't worry we'll definitely get a seat." I reassured. 

He frowned, "that is not at all what I meant. Isn't that really expensive?" 

Good lord, you would think Benny would leave well enough alone and let me treat him to something. "So? It's my father's money and he wants me to pay for you, so stop it it's incredibly annoying." I replied rolling my eyes. The truth was it was incredibly endearing though, because I knew about fifty people that had more money than him that would be more than happy to let me pay for everything. It was disconcerting that despite the fact that they went to schools a trillion times more presegious and fancy than ours he still had better manners than a lot of them. My close friends excluded of course.